A Meaningful Gift for Your Mother-in-Law (That Starts in Her Kitchen)
Buying for a mother-in-law is its own particular test. You don't want to get it wrong, and you don't quite know her the way her own children do. Here's the gift that started our whole business.
Why it's hard
She already has the candles. She has the scarves. She is polite about all of it. What she doesn't get often is a gift that says you understand where her family comes from, and that's a hard thing to buy when you married into the family rather than grew up in it.
How Tastefully Studio started
It started with a gift. One of us was looking for something for a mother-in-law and noticed a box of recipe cards on her table. A question about them led to an idea: photograph one card, take away the background, and have it printed. When she opened it, she couldn't believe it. She cried. Then all her friends wanted one.
That's still the best version of this gift we know of.
Start with a question, not a purchase
Next time you're in her kitchen, ask about the recipe box. Which card is the oldest? Whose handwriting is that? What did her mother always make? You'll learn more about her family in ten minutes than in ten years of holidays, and she'll notice that you asked.
If the box isn't there, ask your partner. They'll know the dish. They might not know there's a card for it, which is a good reason to go looking together.
Get the photo quietly
You need one phone photo of the card. If you want it to be a surprise, enlist your partner or a sibling. Two minutes by a window, flat and straight on, is all it takes, and the card never leaves her kitchen. Our guide to photographing old recipe cards walks through it.
Which card to choose
Her mother's handwriting, if there's a card in it. Nothing else in the box will mean as much. Otherwise, the dish your partner asks for on their birthday. Stains are good. A note in the margin is better.
What it costs
Framed prints start at $109 with free shipping in the US, and you see your framed preview free before you pay. If your partner's siblings want one too, every extra framed copy of the same recipe is 20% off in the same order.
When to give it
Christmas, Mother's Day or her birthday, but the best one we've heard of is no occasion at all. Just because you asked about the box, and then you did something with the answer.
At a glance
- What it is
- Your handwritten recipe card, printed large on fine-art paper and framed, exactly as it was written.
- What you send
- One phone photo of the card. The original stays with you.
- Prices
- Prints from $39. Framed from $109.
- Sizes
- 8 × 10 to 16 × 20 inches. Frames in 8 colors.
- Preview
- Free, before you pay.
- Shipping
- Ships in 3 to 5 business days. Free on every US order.
Questions
Is this a good gift?
It might be the best gift you've given. Seeing a loved one's handwriting framed on a wall hits differently than a photo or a card. The way they crossed their t's, the little notes in the margins, all of it. We've seen people cry when they unwrap one. In a good way.
Can I ship to a different address?
Yes. Enter their address at checkout and the order ships straight to them, free anywhere in the US.
Does the original card have to be sent to you?
No. One phone photo of the card is all we need. The original never leaves your hands, or her kitchen.
Can I order more than one?
Yes, order as many as you like. With the Family Frame Offer, every extra copy of the same framed recipe is 20% off in the same order: the same recipe in the same size, style and frame color. Your first is full price, and the saving is applied automatically at checkout. Framed and Framed + Mat qualify. Print Only and Print + Mat copies, and a different recipe, size, style or color, are full price.
